Hom Hostel & Cooking Club Bangkok

Created to connect people through cooking, the well-run Hom Hostel sits incongruously on the edge of one of Bangkok’s nightlife areas. But with clean dorms, simple rooms, a huge kitchen, a rooftop garden and cooking demos and classes, it’s a great option for travellers curious about Thai cuisine.

Location

The Hom Hostel is ideally-located for shoppers and night owls in downtown Bangkok, a few minutes’ walk from Ploenchit Skytrain Station. There’s a pier nearby from which regular day time long-tail boats ferry travellers to Khao San Road and the riverside attractions in around 40 minutes.

Hom Hostel & Cooking Club Bangkok via Agoda

Style & character

Located on the fourth floor of a rather uninviting shopping centre, guests will be positively surprised by the relaxed, efficient and clean vibe of Hom Hostel. There’s no reception, just a huge spotless and well-equipped kitchen to step into. Chances are someone will be preparing food. The dorms and rooms are tucked away from sight and the kitchen opens onto the rooftop garden. The solid furniture is made from dark wood, giving the property an uncluttered but warm character. Despite its ultra-urban location, the Hom Hostel has a very homely feel.

Service & facilities

Proprietor Toon and her team speak good English and go out of their way to make guests feel at home. The kitchen takes pride of place and the rooftop garden, with sky trains buzzing past a few metres away and Bangkok’s high rise cityscape as a backdrop, is a great place to meet other visitors or admire the wide variety of vegetables and herbs growing here. The spotless common room features a computer for guests, plenty of board games for kids, a TV and DVD player, and a comfortable seating area. There’s Wi-Fi throughout the property and there are nice personal touches such as chocolates on the pillow every night.

Laundry

Parking

Restaurant

Wi-Fi

Hom Hostel & Cooking Club Bangkok via Booking.com

Rooms

There are five smart dorm rooms, one for female travellers. Some sleep 10 guests, others just four, in large, comfortable wooden framed bunk beds with ultra-comfortable mattresses. The dorms all have showers. The two en-suite private rooms are clean and feature light wood furnishings with windows facing onto the roof garden. The bathrooms are small, spotless and functional.

Food & drink

There’s no restaurant as such, but as the kitchen is usually active with demos or classes, there seems to be something good to eat most of the time and in the evenings guests may help themselves to whatever was cooked during the day. There’s a free daily cooking demo. A half-day private cooking class, during which guests learn to cook two classic dishes, is 1500 Thai Baht (£33). Once a week Toon cooks with guests; a kind of free interactive class and social event. The best place for an early evening drink is the rooftop garden.

A hearty Thai breakfast, usually a curry, a soup or fried rice, along with fresh coffee or tea, is included in the room rate.

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